It's a US edition, so presumably bought there. Found in a box of novels (oh, bookcrosser heaven) amongst the anatomical model section of the library at Jamkhed Comprehensive Rural Health Project in rural Maharashtra, India. Read over coffee & divine chocolate pudding in Juhu Beach, Mumbai. Home to Australia via Sydney. Finished on a trip to the Twelve Apostles and Lorne. Now to wing its way with Santa to Brisbane.

I received this as a Secret Santa gift just before Christmas. I was a very good girl and waited to open it until Christmas morning. But then I have been a very naughty bookcrosser, as I have not got around to journalling it (or another pile of BC books) until today. *grovels humbly*

I have never read anything by this author. Lots of people have recommended his work of late, and spoken in glowing terms of this and others by him. I've been wavering about buying one to see whether the advice that I will enjoy this author is right or not. And here one turns up for me in a Secret Santa bag!

Bookcrossing is all about serendipity and kindness - and this is just another example of bookcrossing karma in action!

All my attempts to describe the Thursday Next series ("well, it's like England in 1985, only the Crimean War's still going on, and you can jump into books, and there's airships and reconstituted dodos") sound incoherent and overly twee.

THE EYRE AFFAIR and its sequels lie somewhere in the realm of speculative fiction, probably in the near vicinity of Douglas Adams, that is if Adams had been obsessed with the Great Books of English literature.

This book is a really interesting look at a world where everybody takes literature seriously - very seriously. Fforde's heroine, Thursday Next, is a Special Operative in Literary Detection with too much on her plate - an arch nemesis Hades Acheron who is killing off minor Dickens characters, an aunt trapped in a Wordsworth poem, a father who is a rogue "Chrononaut" currently preoccupied with Lady Hamilton (only because he believes Lord Nelson's untimely death to be the work of rival French agents), and a love life on hold due to the disastrous Charge of the Armored Light Brigade.

To be sure, this is pure escapism and the idea that literature would play such an important part in everyday life is a nice bit of wishful thinking. However, there is enough wit, intelligence and laugh out-loud humor to entertain the most jaded bookworms.

I'll certainly be following the adventures of Thursday Next with interest.

From Jawinn... "well, it's like England in 1985, only the Crimean War's still going on, and you can jump into books, and there's airships and reconstituted dodos"... Yes there are all those things - all very bizarre!

It is set in 1985 in a sort of alternate reality. Terry Pratchett meets Orwell meets Bronte.

There was probably a lot of literary jokes that I didn't get. Some people's names cracked me up; notably Jack Schitt, and of course the main character Thursday Next.

I wonder what books people would chose to visit if they actually could?

This was a very interesting book! It was weird reading a sci-fi/fantasy book that is set in the 1980/90's...not in the future as is the norm! Anyway it had a bit of everything which I liked and it was interesting hearing about the 'classic' books that were referred to, makes me feel I should pick up Jane Eyre and give it another read! I look forward to reading the others in the series.

Wasn't sure whether I liked the book or not. It was a great deal of fantasy for sure and parts were quite funny. A stranger read I don't think I've ever had. I caught the book at a meeting in Sydney NSW in June and took it to Vancouver Canada with me.